Renowned Filipino singing icon Lea Salonga and the Brigham Young University Chamber Orchestra perform together in a concert featuring favorite songs and light orchestra classics. The concert culminates the series of performances of the Brigham Young University Chamber Orchestra in different parts of the country.

Known across the world for her powerful voice and perfect pitch, Lea Salonga is a singer and actress who is best known for her Tony Award winning role in Miss Saigon. In addition to the Tony, she has won the Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World Awards in the field of musical theatre. She was also the first Asian to play Eponine in the musical Les Miserables on Broadway and returned to the beloved show as Fantine in the 2006 revival.

Currently, Lea is a judge on the Philippine hit version of “The Voice.” Mitoy Yonting, a member of Team Lea, was named the first season winner. She is currently filming the third season of The Voice Kids.

Lea has toured all over the world, performing sold out concerts in such locations as the Disney Concert Hall in Los Angeles, Singapore’s Esplanade (twice), Kuala Lumpur Convention Center (twice), Hong Kong Cultural Center (multiple times), Queen Sirikit Convention Center in Bangkok, Carnegie Hall in New York, and in various venues in Vancouver, Sacramento, San Diego, Phoenix, Edmonton, Winnipeg, Regina, Calgary, San Bernardino, Cerritos and San Francisco. She was also the first artist to sell out two shows at Brigham Young University’s De Jong Concert Hall in Provo, Utah since The Kings Singers in 2009.

For much of 2014, Lea performed with legendary popera quartet Il Divo, accompanying them in Asia, the United States, Canada, Mexico, and all through Eastern and Western Europe on their A Musical Affair tour, celebrating the band’s 10th anniversary. She can be seen on their latest DVD and CD bearing the same name.

In her 37-year career, Lea has performed for six Philippine presidents (from Ferdinand Marcos to Benigno S. Aquino III), three American Presidents (George H. W. Bush, Bill Clinton, and George W. Bush), and for Diana, Princess of Wales and Her Majesty Queen Elizabeth II. She began her career as a child star in the Philippines, making her professional debut in 1978 at the age of seven in the musical The King and I. She went on to star in productions of Annie, Cat on a Hot Tin Roof, Fiddler on the Roof, The Rose Tattoo, The Sound of Music, The Goodbye Girl, Paper Moon, and The Fantasticks.

Lea began her recording career at the age of ten with her first album, “Small Voice,” which received a gold certification. In addition to performing in musical theater and recordings, she hosted her own musical television show, “Love, Lea,” and also appeared with international acts such as Menudo and Stevie Wonder.

Lea's big break came when she was selected to play Kim in the megahit musical Miss Saigon in 1989. Given her popularity in the role, she was asked to return in 1999 to close the musical in London and again in 2001 to close the Broadway production.

An avid techie and gamer, Lea divides her time between Manila, Philippines with her family and the United States.

ABOUT BYU CHAMBER ORCHESTRA:

Brigham Young University's Chamber Orchestra plays an expansive variety of classical music, including traditional orchestral works for small orchestra.

The orchestra's most recent tour in May of 2014 took the group to Italy, Slovenia, Hungary, and Turkey.

The ensemble consists of 45 musicians, including string, woodwind, brass, and percussion players. Members, ranging between the ages of 18 and 27, come from all parts of the United States. Most are pursuing professional degrees in music performance or education.

In the spring of 2011, the orchestra visited China, performing in the annual Meet in Beijing Arts Festival. They combined with the Beijing Dance Academy, as well as with orchestras from four universities in China for concerts and workshops.

The orchestra traveled to the Pacific Northwest in May 2009, giving 5 concerts in Idaho and Oregon.

The group was presented in the famous Carnegie Hall, as well as in many other performance locations throughout the historic eastern United States cities in a tour in May 2008.

In May 2006, the Chamber Orchestra took their repertoire to England, Wales, and Scotland.

The Chamber Orchestra originates in the School of Music in the College of Fine Arts and Communications at Brigham Young University in Provo, Utah. BYU is one of the nation's largest private universities with an enrollment of 30,000 students from throughout the United States and 105 foreign countries.

The Chamber Orchestra is conducted by Professor Kory Katseanes. He is currently Director of the BYU School of Music, as well as Director of Orchestras within the School of Music, overseeing the orchestral program that accommodates nearly 450 students enrolled in the five university orchestras. He also directs the graduate orchestral conducting program. Professor Katseanes also served as Assistant Conductor of the Utah Symphony from 1987 to 2002.

ABOUT KORY KATSEANES:

From the moment Kory Katseanes drops the tip of his baton, audiences know that the next 90 minutes will be sensational. As director of the School of Music, Graduate Conducting Programs as well as the Orchestras at Brigham Young University, Katseanes oversees the orchestral program that accommodates more than 400 students enrolled in five university orchestras, and directs the BYU Chamber Orchestra and BYU Philharmonic on campus, throughout Utah and on their worldwide tours.

In addition to conducting studies with renowned conductor Joseph Rosenstock, Katseanes has degrees in violin performance from the University of Utah and was a member of the Utah Symphony for 26 years, serving 17 of those as assistant conductor. While conducting the Utah Symphony he collaborated with artists including: The King's Singers, Kathy Mattea, Nanci Griffiths, Judy Collins, Art Garfunkel, Ray Charles, Maureen McGovern, The Manhattan Rhythm Kings, Lou Rawls, The Dukes of Dixieland, Pete Fountain, The Kingston Trio, Sandy Duncan, The Children's Group, and The Stars of Broadway, among others. His work with dance companies includes Rudolph Nureyev and Friends, Repertory Dance Theatre, and the Twin Cities Ballet.

He was the founder and music director of The Utah Virtuosi, a professional chamber orchestra in Salt Lake City, whre many acclaimed performances included guest artists: Joann Ottley, Reid Nibley, Andres Cardenes, and the Jenson-Woodbury Duo. Katseanes also serving as a guest conductor, performed choral and orchestral concerts with community and student orchestras in Utah, Illinois, and Florida. Katseanes is also a founding member of College Orchestra Directors Association (CODA) and works as a frequent guest conductor and clinician. Through this he has performed choral and orchestral concerts with community and student orchestras in Florida, Idaho, Illinois, Kentucky and Utah.

Katseanes received masters and bachelors degrees from the University of Utah, and an associate's degree from Ricks College. He completed his conducting studies with renowned conductor Josef Rosenstock. As a violinist, his teachers include Lamar Barrus, Oscar Chausow, Kathryn Katseanes, Zvi Zeitlin, and Elaine Richey. He has also been on the faculties of Illinois Wesleyan University, Ricks College (now BYU-Idaho), and the Violin Making School of America.